Chiropractic for Lower Back Pain & Sciatica
Low Back Pain and Sciatica
At Jermyn Chiropractic we treat many patients with back pain and Sciatica each year. The majority of low back pain has a biomechanical cause and can involve vertebrae, spinal discs, nerves and surrounding soft tissues.
Back pain resulting from a biomechanical cause responds well to the holistic program of Chiropractic care. Relieving the pain and restoring mobility are both key to improving the quality of life for sufferers, especially when pain is preventing them from managing day to day tasks. Whether you are experiencing back pain for the first time or have suffered repeated bouts of debilitating pain or Sciatica symptoms, you should find out how Chiropractic could help you.
Low Back Pain Symptoms
Because symptoms vary between individual patients and may be similar between two people with very different causes for their problems, it is important to visit your Chiropractor for a full assessment – including patient history and physical examination, to identify the cause of symptoms that can include:
- Pain that ranges from sharp and stabbing to dull, achey or cramping
- Pain that may involve the lower back, buttocks, and outer hip areas
- Numbness, tingling, weakness extending down the leg and pain down the back of the thigh (these symptoms are usually associated with
- Sciatica, a problem that can occur in isolation, without lower back pain)
- Pain that gets worse after sitting for long periods, or bending, lifting and walking
Conditions that cause Lower Back Pain
- One of the more common causes is simply ‘wear and tear’. Spondylosis is a term used to describe the slow degeneration of the spine with age.
- Sprains and strains are another common cause and can affect ligaments, tendons, and muscles.
- The discs between vertebrae can become prolapsed, herniated or ruptured. In addition, discs can degenerate with age and lose their ability to cushion the vertebrae.
- To understand more about a Herniated Disc click here
Causes of Sciatica
Sciatica is the term for symptoms that arise when the Sciatic nerve, the largest in the body and the main nerve supplying the leg, becomes compressed or irritated. In younger people, the condition often results from a prolapsed disc, in older people a narrowing of the spinal canal or changes in the spine caused by osteoarthritis and other conditions can often be responsible.
Tightness in the Piriformis muscles in the buttocks, through which the Sciatic nerve passes, can also cause compression of the nerve and associated symptoms.
Other causes may include, sitting for long periods, walking in high heels, postural problems, the wrong mattress and incorrect lifting and/or bending.
To learn more about sciatica click here
How Chiropractic Can Help
The main treatment objectives of Chiropractic care is to reduce pain, restore movement, reduce tension and to help patients with a holistic program that may involve rehabilitative exercises, stretches, and strengthening work.
Because each patient’s needs are different, treatment plans will vary, even among individuals with similar symptoms. As part of your care, you may receive gentle spinal adjustments and mobilisations, trigger point/muscle therapy and soft tissue work to relieve tightness in muscles, tendons and ligaments. If Sciatica is a problem for you, we will also give advice on minimizing pressure on, and irritation of, the Sciatic nerve.
Patients will leave after their first appointment with a clear understanding of the cause of their problem and an agreed treatment plan. Chiropractic care for low back pain and Sciatica is a low risk, drug-free and effective treatment for the symptoms and for the underlying causes. Helping you to get out of pain, back to full mobility and enjoying life once again, is our aim.
